Breech-loading fire-arm



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. H.- WHITNEY.

BREEGH LOADING FIRE ARM.

N0." 304,480. Patented Sept. 2. 1 884.

lN-VENTOR E. MW WILL/Am 15/. WH/T/YEX By his .dttorney w. PETERS,Phowhlhugmpbcr. Washinglon. u. c

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. WE. WHITNEY.

BRBBGH LOADING FIRE ARM.

(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 2, 1884.

INVENTOR v TlTz'ZZz'am H. Whiznqy By his .dttqrr bey v v 1 WITNESSES I(No Model.) 3 sheets- -sheet 3.

W. H. WHITNEY.

BREEGH LOADING FIRE ARM.

WITNESSES INVENTOH W'z'iiz'am .H. Wizz'fn e By his Attorney I N. PETERS.Phnlnilkhogmpher. Wnshmghm. a c.

UNITED STATES ATENT Fries.

\VILLIABTH. \VHITNEY, OF EAST BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS BREECH-LOADINGFIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent K030 1 480, dated September2, 1884.

Application filed March 24, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,WILLIAM ILWHITNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at East Brookfield, in the State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention consists in certain novel com binations and arrangementsof parts, which have been embodied as a whole in a doublebarreledbreech-loading gun, but may in part be incorporated separately in otherfire-arms, single-barreled as well as double-barreled, i11- eludingrevolvers or pistols.

The objects of the respective parts or divisions of the invention are asfollows, viz: first, to render the piece secure against premature oraccidental discharge, without unnecessary complication, by necessitatingthe application of external force to the mainspring in a deliberate andat the same time convenient manner, and a subsequent touch or operationof the trigger for each discharge, the hammer being inclosed orconcealed and adapted to be cooked by other means, either preparatory toor in the act of firing, as may be preferred; secondly, tosimultaneously apply the required force to two otherwiseindependent'maindium of amainspring of the aforesaid description; and,fifthly, to provide by the same means for automatically setting saidexternal lever-piece ready for its next effective movement.

Three sheets of drawings accompany this specification as part thereof.Figure 1 ofthese drawings is a side view of thelock portion of adouble-barreled hammerless breech-loader in loading condition, with thelock-cap or cheek-plate removed from its near side. Fig.

(N0 model.)

2 is asectional view of the same from the same side, showing the partsin full lines, ready for firing, and in dotted lines in other positions.Fig. 3 represents a cross-section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4is asectional side view of anotherdouble-barreled breech-loader,illustratingmodifications. Fig. 5 represents a front or rear view of a part shown inFig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional side view illustrating another arrangementfor cocking from the trigger. Figs. 7 to 12, inclusive, are fragmentaryside views of different combinations of parts, illustrating additionalmodifications in the means for applying force to the mainspringpreparatory to firin In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A represents the wooden vstock, B the barrels, and O the metallic connecting part orbody-casting, of said breeclr loader, embodying all the several parts ordi visions of this invention in a preferred way. A B C, Fig. 4,represent the corresponding parts of another double-barreledbreechloader; and, in Fig. 12, H represents the handle, X the cylinder,and E the barrel, of a revolver embodying the same inventionin part. Thefiring andbarretfastening devices are all either arranged within orattached to the body-casting U or C; and apart from these, thedouble-barreled breech-loader (represented by Figs. 1 t0 3 and 5 and 6of the drawings) may be of any approved make. The barrels B or B are ineach case attached to the body-casting O or G, at the front er tremityof the latter, "by a transverse pivot* screw, a, passing through a lug,b, on the sole of the barrels. This provides in a customary manner foropening the breech by tilting the breech ends of the barrels upward, asillustrated by Fig. 1. For fastening them preparatory to firing, and forreadily unfastening them, a second lug, b 1), projects downward from therear extremity of the barrels, and is notched in its rear surface; Amatching catch, 0 c, is incorporated with the front end of atrigger-guard, T or T, which is pivoted at this end by a transversepivot-screw, a a, the axis of which is located in front of the line ofstrain on said catch, and a fiat catchspring, (Z d, is arranged withinthe sole of the body-casting at its front end, and held at midlength bya countersunk screw, and at its front endwithin the undercut extremityof the cast- 0 c engages with said lug 'b I) automatically, &

and by lowering theguard by hand, as represented by dotted lines in Fig.2, and'simultaneously tilting the barrels, the breech is readily opened.Said location of the axis of said pivot a a in front of the line ofliftingstrain on the catch precludes any yielding of the catch undersuch strain, causing the energy of the latter to be directed towarddrawing the rear end of the guard upward against its unyielding support.trigger-guard may be as small as may be preferred, and itsprimary use isin no way interfered with. .It is only essential, however, in thepresent invention that the barrel-fastening devices shall be whollydistinct from the: The interior of said bodycasting G or O is dividedlongitudinally by firing devices.

, a central vertical partition, 19, as best seen in Fig. 3, and eachside of said partition is provided with drilled and internally-tappedpivotal studs 8 s, which, besides providing holds for screws attachingthe cheek-plates a 0, Fig. 3,

in customary manner, form pivotal supports, respectively, for concealedhammers h and pivoted mainsprings m, of which the latter are inseparablyconnected to theformer at the back of each hammer-hub by links Z.

Normally, as represented in Figs. 1 and 4, I the mainsprings are underno tension. are put in tension, preparatory to firing, by force appliedto them from without by pressing or drawing upward a lever-piece, L,Figs. 1,

2, and 3, or L", Fig. 4, attached by a transverse I pivot, 00, to thesole of each body-casting in a convenient position. Each of saidleverpieces, L L", projects rearwardly from its pivot horizontally, ornearly so, and is stayed at its otherwise free rear end by a dependingstud-pin, 9, having its lower end threaded and provided with a stop-nut,and masked by a reeurved portion, z, of the lever-piece, termed itsball, which also provides for working the lever-piece by a pistol-grip.last-named details are not, however, "considered essential.

In the preferred firing device for "doublebarreled guns shown in saidFigs. 1, 2, and 3, the front end of the lever-piece, extended up-;

ward so as to project within the body-casting long enough to actsimultaneously on both mainsprings, (or two shorter rollers anda rolleror rollers of any preferred diameter (Represent- At the same time theThey I These may be used,) so that one and the same leverpiece servesfor both sides of the piece. Moreover, owing to said roller andcam-wedge combination, relatively little force applied to the externallever piece L suffices; and the lever-piece may be renderedself-sustaining when its rear end is fully raised, as shown in fulllines in Fig. 2, by locating the roller-axis so that it shall then be inor slightly past the line of strain, or the summit of said cam-wedges,in this the effective position of said leverpiece, as represented inFig. 2. This roller andcam-wedge combination is equally applicable tosingle-barreled guns and revolvers or pistols. lever-piece themainspring m is set for firing, with ample energy stored therein. Fortripping the hammer. -h to fire the piece, an ordinary trigger, -t or ti, may be employed. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the trigger it tlifts the rear end of a lever-dog, (2,, against the pressure of a smallsear-spring, e, and disengages. the nose of the dog from the singlecatchshoulder on the hub of the hammer, permittingthe hammer to be thrown bythe mainspring against a firing-pin, f, (for example,) as represented bydotted lines at h in Fig. 2. To restore the firing devices to theircondition of rest, (represented in Fig. 1,) another spring,

In said effective position of said n, is attached to each side of thepartition 1) i above each mainspring, so as to press on the top of thelatter. This spring a, it will be seen, is put in tension in the act ofapplying force to the mainspring, and expends its energy in restoringitself and the other parts of the firing device to normal condition, asaforesaid, the lever-piece L returning to its lowered position, as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 2, when started from its locked position by atouch, and the hammer h returning to its cocked position,'as shown infulllines.

In lieuof using said'cocking-springs a, Figs. land 2, the gun, or eitherside thereof, or a revolver or pistol provided with my said firingdevice, as regards its mainsprings, may be rendered self-cocking in themore common way, as illustrated by Figs. 4, 6, and 12that is to say, byprovision for cocking from the trigger. A preferred device for thispurpose is shown in Fig. 4 applied to the front trigger, t, of adouble-barreled gun. The trigger is supported in normal position byaspring, 0 0, attached to the sole of the i body-casting, and is looselyconnected at the rear extremity of its head by a slotted lug, i, withthe middle pivot of a toggle-finger, f f, the rear end of which has anunyielding piv otal support, j, while its front end engages with thetooth or notch of the hammer-hub to throw back the hammer to cockedposition, and in the act becomes disengaged therefrom, so as to allowthe hammer h to strike the firing-pin for itsequivalent. The front endof the toggle-finger is re-engaged with the hammertooth or notch by'thedepression of the middle of the same by the main triggerspring e 'e,acting through the trigger and said lug i thereon, jointly with theelevation of the front extremity of the toggle-finger,by a littlespring, is, interposed between this end thereof and the trigger-head, asseen in the figure. A simpler but less powerful device is represented inFigs. 6 and 12, consisting of asingle finger, fQFig. 6, attached to therear end of the trigger-head by a pivotjoint, 1', and thrown upward atits front extremity by a spring, 7c, while a main trigger-spring, e 6,holds the trigger t normally in a position in which the extremity of thefinger re-engages with the hammer tooth or notch.

For applying force to the mainspring, various modifications of thepreferred device represented in said Figs. 1, 2, and 3 have beendevised. In the modification represented by Figs. 4 and 5 the front endof the lever-piece L simply forms a hinge in connection with said pivot00, and ata point behind this engages with the lower end of a cruciformslide, 0, (seen detached in Fig. 5,) the cross-piece of which works in avertical slot in the partition p of said body-casting O, and in turnengages at each end with a lever, to, attached at its opposite extremityto said partition by a pivotal screw, and engaging intermediately with aV-shaped projection, 12, projecting downward from the mainspring m" atmid-length. Said slide 0 is made in two parts, its vertical memher, inthe form of a screw, extending through and uniting itself with the otherpart, to facilitate its introduction. In the modification illustrated byFig. 7 the lever piece L is similar to the one last described, and actsthrough a vertical slide, 0", on the mainspring m", the latter having arigid or nearly rigid lower arm, w, to engage with the head of saidslide. In the modification illustrated by Fig. 8 the lever-piece L has arigid arm, a, which engages with a toggle strut, t, and, by nearly butnot quite straightening the same, applies power therethrough in a mosteffective way to the mainspring m, the latter having a rigid or nearlyrigid lower arm, 10, jointed at its front end to the upper end of thetoggle-strut. In the modification illustrated by Fig. 9 the lever-pieceL is simply pivoted at its front end, and acts through a vertical slide,0, on a levereccentric, a which in turn acts on a-rigid or nearly rigidlower arm, w, of the mainspring m.

In the modification illustrated by Fig. 10 the lever-piece L has a rigidarm provided with an antifriction roller, 1, (or it may be an eccentricof suitable curve integral with the lever-piece,) engaging with a lever,u, which in turn acts on the mainspring m through a projection, 12, onits under side. In the modification illustrated by Fig. 11 thelever-piece L is simply pivoted at its front end, and acts through abell-crank lever, M, on the mainspring mflthrough a projection, 11, onits under side, said lever u being so proportioned as to increase motioninstead of power, illustrating the use of such means when a lever-pieceof sufficient length for the requisite power can be readily used, so asto reduce its projection downward. Finally, in the revolver or pistolmodification illustrated by Fig. 12, the lever-piece .L is adapted tothe back of the handle H, having its pivot x at its upper end, andconnected at its lower end by a link, Z, with a lever, it, within thehandle, through which, as illustrative means, power is applied to themainspring m. The latter, in the example, is a single bar, hav ing apivot, s, at its rear end, and connected at its front end by a link, Z,to the hub of a pivoted hammer, h", as in other arrangementshereinbefore set forth. A spiral spring, n reprojects the lever piecewhen the grasp thereof is relaxed.

Having thus described my said improvement in breech-loading firearms, Iclaim as my invention 1. In a breech-loading fire-arm, a main springpivoted and inseparably connected with a concealed firing-hammer by alinkjoint, in combination with an external leverpiece distinct from thebarrel-fastening and cocking devices, and operated by hand, and meansfor applying power to said mainspring from saidlever-piece,substantially as herein specified, whereby said mainspring may be whollyrelieved from strain at will, and is adapted to be cocked eitherautomatically or from the trigger, as herein set forth.

2. In a double-barreled fire-arm having the interior of its body-castingdivided longitudinally by a vertical partition, a pair of pivot edmainsprings arranged within the respect ive compartments, in combinationwith a single lever-piece pivoted to the sole of said bodycasting foroperation by hand, and a device common toboth springs, for transmittingpower from said lever-piece to both n'iainsprings simultaneously,substantially as herein specified, for the purpose set forth. v

3. The combination, substantially :as herein specified, of a pivotedmainspring connected at its front end to a concealed firing-hammer, andconstructed with a downwardly-projecting cam-wedge, and an externallever-piece pivoted below said mainspring, and having a rigid armprovided with an anti-friction roller to engage with said cam-wedge whensaid levcr-piece is operated, to apply power to said mainspringpreparatory to firing, said leverpiece being adapted to be retained ineffective position by the coaction of the mainspring with said armthrough said cam-wedge and roller, as set forth.

4. The combination, substantially as herein specified, of apivotedmainspring, a concealed firing hammer, a spring projected dog forholding said hammer in cocked condition, a trigger for tripping saiddog, and a spring applied to said pivoted mainspring for restoring thehammer to cocked condition when the mainspring is freed from tension,for the purpose set forth.

IIO

storing said hammer and said lever-piece to normal condition when thelatter is released.

WM. H.- \VHITNEY.

Witnesses:

' JOHN 1?. DAY,

J OHN G. AVERY.

